Derek Jacobi

Derek Jacobi's life has been devoted to acting, since his stage debut at the age of seven, in a local library production of The Prince and the Swineherd. Cast as the National Youth Theatre's Hamlet during his final year at school, Derek won a scholarship to Cambridge, where he studied and acted alongside other future acting greats. He has since starred in roles ranging from the lead in I, Claudius to Hitler in Inside the Third Reich.

Rome, 37-38 CE. On his deathbed, Tiberius names Caligula heir to the Roman throne. Caligula promises the people bread and circuses, and a new age of prosperity seems about to begin. Then Caligula falls into a coma, awakens, and proclaims himself a god. He fears just one thing: his unborn son by his own sister..

Rome, 54 CE. Claudius marries Agrippinilla, mother of Nero and the deadliest woman in Rome. A prophecy has told him that Nero will be Rome's next ruler. Claudius knowingly seals his fate and that of his own son by naming Nero his heir. He finishes his book and buries a copy to be found centuries later.

Rome, 13-14 CE. After decades of deception, Augustus learns of Livia's plots and writes a new will naming Postumus his heir. Soon after Livia visits the temple of the Vestal Virgins, keepers of the emperor's will, Augustus suffers severe stomach pains. With Livia's hopes finally realized, she sends Sejanus to tie up loose ends.

Rome, 23-29 CE. Tiberius lives only for his perverted pleasures, encouraged by the monstrous young Caligula. Sejanus forces Claudius to marry his sister, solidifying his alliance with the imperial family. Livia, knowing that death is near, confesses her crimes to Claudius and reveals a prophecy claiming that he will be emperor one day.

Rome, 47-48 CE. While Claudius is away invading Britain, Messalina challenges a leading prostitute to a tournament of sex. She wins, scandalizing Rome, but Claudius remains in the dark. He is compelled to act when a final humiliation endangers his life. Soon after, Claudius learns that the British have made him a god.

Rome, 40-41 CE. Now totally mad, Caligula has turned the palace into a brothel, complete with gambling and orgies. His lame old uncle Claudius serves as doorkeeper. With the empire in financial ruin, conspirators plot an assassination. Later, as soldiers loot the palace, Claudius hides behind a curtain.

Jail Caesar (aka String Caesar) is a feature film that tells the timeless story of an adolescence shaped by social and political events. It charts a young man's impassioned quest for power, for the meaning of freedom and to know himself, to live his dreams, and achieve his ambitions. The film explores his struggle to survive by becoming a power broker, a manipulator and then a dictator - the genesis of a powerful man, with roots in politics, violence,...

Days after the encounter at the Swiss waterfall, Pinkerton detective agent Frederick Chase arrives in Europe from New York. Moriarty's death has left an immediate, poisonous vacuum in the criminal underworld. And there is no shortage of candidates to take his place, including one particularly fiendish criminal mastermind.

This production is part of a famous series produced by BBC of all of William Shakespeare's plays. The resulting films, renowned for their loyalty to the text, utilized the best theatrical and television directors and brought highly praised performances from leading contemporary actors. Richard II, who ascended the throne as a child, is a regal and stately monarch. He believes he is the rightful ruler of England, ordained by God, yet he is a weak and...